Far Gone
by Tziput13
Summary: Globgor has made a promise once, and when the unthinkable happens he knows that he must try to talk to her. Yet, having a discussion with Solaria the Monster Carver is no easy task, even for the Prince of Darkness himself. One-shot.


_**AN: **__Here are some warnings before we get to the fanfic: __**this story is rated M for some language, graphic depictions of post-violence injuries plus some depictions of violence (mostly implied), implied torture and major character death.**_

* * *

**Far Gone**

Globgor walked through the open gates of the monster encampment, unstopped. Guards made sure to get out of his way as they were fast to realize he wasn't going to let anyone halt him in his track, whether they actually tried to do so or not; some of the monsters even went and suggested a few other warriors to step aside and leave the Prince of Darkness alone.

If anything, they were doing the other fighters a favour, since Globgor had a dark expression on his face. And everyone knew better than to anger a size-shifter, let alone _the _size-shifter.

Well, not _everyone._

Globgor was forced to stop walking when he realized that the monsters blocking his path right now were not moving. His eyes, which seemed unfocused, suddenly lighted up in fury as he looked at the three monsters who had dared to interrupt his short trek. Yet, the creatures weren't unfazed by his unspoken threat… that was the thing with Septarians, after all.

"Where is _Seth?"_ Globgor growled through gritted teeth, deciding that he probably shouldn't try to kill them here and now.

The tallest Septarian freebooter chortled—a loud, cold laugh. "What is it, Globgor, something's been bothering you?" he sneered.

"You know what I am talking about, _all of you do," _Globgor had to make an immense effort not to blow up. "I asked you a question, soldier. Where is _Seth?!"_

The monsters around them stopped what they were doing, unable to ignore the commotion. Size-shifters were known to be particularly loud and menacing when irritated, and Globgor was no exception.

Yet, the Septarians kept their grins on their faces, simply making sure to raise their upper armours just enough to reveal the Septarian scythes below them. "Why, fate has a way of doing things, Prince of Darkness… you're actually expected deeper into the camp. As much as I'd like to continue this friendly conversation we're having… you will find Seth of Septarsis in front of the entrance of the central tent we've made sure to have up this morning. He's been making sure that our… recent _guest _receives all the honours she deserves."

The tallest Septarian exploded into another series of laughs after his announcement and his companions soon joined him. But before Globgor could size-shift accordingly to crush them, they finally stepped aside, and the Prince relented at the last moment.

He simply glared at them as he moved forward, then he resumed his fast march in the general direction of the destination he had been told about, trying his best to ignore the sniggers behind him. He couldn't waste time with them, he needed to be fast… right now, every minute counted, perhaps even the seconds, and he couldn't spare any at the moment.

He needed to get there and… try. For her.

It didn't take him much longer to get to the 'prison tent' the Septarians had set up. A huge array of monsters seemed to be concentrated around the area—Globgor wasn't surprised. If what he had heard was true, then what had just happened was unprecedented, something few monsters had thought to be possible.

Yet, since the time Eclipsa had showed him the wand in her hand and told him about the ceremony related to the traditional passing of the wand, he himself knew, deep down, that not even the Monster Carver could come up victorious again and again for so long. Not without her most powerful weapon.

Globgor's thoughts came to a halt as he reached the tent. The crowd of monster warriors had made sure to let him through without a hassle, all of them paying their respect to the prince of Darkness, half out of fear, half out of sincere admiration. In any case, Globgor definitely didn't need more annoyances from fellow mosterkin, not when he had to deal with those standing guard in front of the tent's entrance.

Here he was. Among the group of fifteen of so Septarians, Seth was always immediately recognizable. He stood out not only because of pure height and the reverence of the warriors among him, but also because of his peculiar look. White hair was a rarity among immortal lizardmen, and Seth had made sure to embrace this specific physical trait of his.

He was the self-proclaimed leader of the Septarian battalion that had joined the monsters' forces against the Mewmans in the war. Globgor had never liked him since the very beginning, even at the start where Seth and he were just lower generals looking for glory. Both of them had changed, but while Globgor had made a name for himself as the terrorizing yet noble Prince of Darkness, Seth had built a far less honourable reputation around himself. He was not one to avoid unconventional methods to achieve his goals, in which morals were second to results, and as one would know, holding a position of power for Septarians could sometimes be a bloody affair. It was the case for Seth.

In the end, Globgor wasn't surprised back then to learn the Septarian warchief that was a possible double-crosser and unfaithful ally… but he was also a very important asset in the monsters ranks, if not the most important one in the army. Septarians were feared by Mewmans for a reason.

Not that it made it any easier to tolerate him.

"Globgor. Prince of Darkness," Seth greeted when he noticed the approaching form of the size-shifter. He was sitting on a line of chair with his lackeys, discussing something Globgor didn't really care about right now. He stood up, the lizardmen with him following suit, and walked forward to meet him. "Glad to see you've made it here. I know you would've come."

"Let's cut the greetings short, Seth. Where is _she?"_

"Hmm, how quaint…" one of the Septarians in Seth's group intervend. "You sound eager to hear about her, Globgor. What is it? Did you make a new girlfriend we missed about?"

He exploded into mocking laughter, two of his friends following him not long after. Unfortunately for Globgor, voices had begun to run among the monsters… he knew he couldn't hide everything about him and Eclipsa for long, but he was confident it wouldn't have made much damage to his role in the monster hierarchy. Even if he had to put in the show that he was voluntarily having an affair for war reasons in order to gain the upper hand on their foes… and not because he was sincerely in love.

Before he could retort, though, Seth decided to do something himself about his warriors. He approached the Septarian who had talked, and punched him right in the face without notice. The lizardman was sent into the ground by the force of the punch alone, as he clutched on his snout in pain.

"Seth, what the hell—?"

"What was that for, Seth?!"

"Hush!" Seth commanded. His tone didn't expect any further questions or protests. One of the Septarians growled and was almost ready to draw out his scythe, but Seth glared at him in the face hard enough to make the younger warrior relent. "I thought I said you would keep your mouth shut until I said so. Perhaps I wasn't enough clear… or was I?"

The two Septarians who didn't have a damaged snout nodded without a word. "Good."

He looked back at Globgor, and approached him. "Now, where were we? Oh, yes. The Queen."

"Where is she?" Globgor repeated drily.

"You'll find her inside, Globgor. She's alive… if that is what you're so concerned about."

Globgor couldn't help releasing a sigh, as if some heaviness had been lifted off his stomach. He knew Seth had noticed, but for now he didn't care.

He made a step forward, but before he could move anymore, Seth put a hand on his shoulder.

"Ah-ah ah. Globgor. Where do you think you're going?"

Globgor really would've liked to tear Seth's arm off in that very moment. Yet, with an immense display of self-control, he simply looked at him right into his eyes, making no attempt to hide his hostility.

"I am going to get in there and check on her first, see what you mean by 'alive'. Then, I'm going to have a talk with her."

"And what for? Globgor, by now you should know that it was me and my Septarian elites that captured the queen, though truth be told, we were not alone in the overall battle… a lot of monsters joined us in attacking the Mewmans last night. A lot of them fell. You wouldn't let their lives go to waste, would you?"

Slimy Septarians…

"No, I wouldn't," Globgor replied. He raised his eyes from Seth to look around himself: much of the bystander monsters were still there, eyes fixed on the two leaders. "I know what she's done. I know what she's capable of. I will not do anything that will put any monster in danger, Seth."

"That's… good to hear, I guess. Still, she is technically war spoil… _my spoil," _Seth said. Globgor saw his pupils thinning in real time, becoming far more animalistic. "And you have to understand… I can't really trust you fully on dealing with the queen. I hope you understand she's… done for, Prince of Darkness. _Far gone._ We've achieved victory, last night, and in my humble opinion there isn't much left to be done here."

"Victory?" Globgor had not been intimidated in the slightest by the Septarian. "You have achieved victory through trickery and misleading, Seth. You've made sure to strike the Mewmans after we'd just agreed to a _ceasefire, _of all things! You've swayed fellow monsters into joining you, all because you wanted to get to the queen. And yet, what did you find there? Most of the warriors in the battalion were dispersed along a convoy, and you made sure to attack first where you knew you'd find unarmed Mewmans. You ambushed them, Seth, and when you got the queen you didn't even try to avoid further combat with the rest of the battalion. How many monsters did you sacrifice for your own stunt?"

"They fell because they wanted to, and with their sacrifice we have finally succeeded in something a lot of us have longed for; something some of us didn't think was possible even in our wildest dreams. And we did so by capturing our worst, sworn enemy, the Mewman woman who's caused so much pain for all of us." Seth stood his ground. He removed his hand from Globgor's shoulder, since it had become difficult to keep it there given that the size-shifter was slowly increasing in size out of anger.

"She's done far, far too much to monsters throughout all of her life, since the day her mother made the mistake to give her the wand. She doesn't deserve any mercy… This is our revenge as well in a way, a way to do justice to the crimes she's committed. And I won't let you take it back from me, from us, from _all of us."_

Globgor knew what Seth was doing. He was trying to push a him-versus-them interpretation of their disagreement, one where Globgor was doing something damaging not just Seth and the bloodlust of his freebooters, but also the entire monster horde.

"I don't expect _you _to understand what I am doing, Seth," Globgor retorted. "But I never, ever acted against the interest of monsters. I've fought Mewmans for long, I reckon even longer than you, and I know very well what they're responsible for, what _she _is responsible for. No… the queen will stay where she is, and she won't get more than what she deserves."

"That is good to hear, but then, what is it that makes you willing to go meet her now? I believe any kind of talk with her is kind of irrelevant."

"I'm not just going to chat with her," Globgor explained, measuring his words. "For starters, she has information, something we've been looking for since the start of this war. She knows _everything, _and if we can get anything out of her, then we could make use of it."

This was true, but Globgor knew that the queen would rather die than share that kind of information, essentially betraying Mewmans while doing it. In fact, the main reason that pushed Globgor forward was very much different. He knew Seth expected him to do this as well, and he knew he would've tried to expose this by himself if he didn't do anything about it.

He needed to show his point himself, before the Septarian could do any more damage.

"Moreover… we might get something else out of her. She's still the queen of Mewmans, and as long as she's alive, she'll keep being that. If we were to… convince her to cooperate, to show her why we monsters do what we're doing, perhaps… perhaps, we can bring an end to this war. Here and now."

He looked around, studying the bystander monsters that were listening to him. "No more battles. No more deaths."

He knew his words did the trick. Some of the monsters mumbled among each other, including the most combat-longing ones, but while some of them were grunting behind a mask of bravery, feigning confusion, others had light in their eyes once they heard Globgor's words. It wasn't all of them… but they weren't few.

No, no matter what Seth thought, no matter what the queen of Mewmans herself thought… Globgor knew that most monsters would've welcomed an end to this conflict. As long as there was repair for what had started it in the first place, for what the Mewmans had taken from monster-kind, then Globgor was positive that a peaceful resolution was still possible. The majority of monsters, deep down, was open to that.

The Mewmans were the real problem. The queen was the real problem, the main obstacle. And she was right there, in that tent, behind Seth. It was an once-in-a-lifetime chance.

He knew that the Septarian had to be aware of all of this. And indeed, Seth could only show his teeth, holding in a growl.

"Very well. I will grant you some time with the queen, Globgor. I'll even trust you to be alone with her; I'll tell my men to simply patrol around the tent, just in case she pulls out some trick… though, I doubt she will," Seth said. "Make use of the time you have, Prince of Darkness. I will not wait forever, and after you're done… you better have results, or we will deal with the Monster Carver our way."

Globgor narrowed his eyes at Seth, pondering over his offer. Then, he nodded. "So be it."

He walked through the Septarian squad, unstopped, and entered the tent without another word, his mind full of wild thoughts, the first of one being the reason he hadn't mentioned to Seth. The one no monster was aware of, rumours or not.

His promise.

* * *

As it turned out, two Septarians were standing guard inside the tent, but as soon as they saw Globgor they quickly excused themselves and disappeared behind the entrance, without a doubt having listened to his conversation with Seth from inside as the tent, as large as it was, wasn't made to be soundproof. Thus, Globgor was left alone, as promised by the Septarian chief.

The tent had clearly been built hastily and without attention to details. The ground was a disaster of irregular terrain with no cover whatsoever, and furniture was scarce. The few objects that were there… weren't pleasant to look at. There were enough weapons to compose a small Septarian armoury, but what caught the eye were other… instruments, made to hurt, but not to fight.

Some of them had dark red, dry stains over them, which left no further doubts concerning their use. Globgor had been fast, but apparently he wasn't fast enough to stop Seth and his lackeys from having some fun.

Then, he saw her.

Globgor had already had the chance in the past to meet the queen. It was almost always in battle, where she was a force to be reckoned with, a terror that even he had learned to fear… because a monster that ran from Solaria Butterfly might've been a coward, but one that faced her head on by himself was surely an idiot.

And here she was… downed. Defeated. Injured.

Globgor was almost astonished when he looked at Solaria in her current state. The queen of Mewmans was in a sitting position, leaning on a wooden pole placed in the centre of the tent. Her arms were behind her back, without a doubt either tied or shackled to said pole (Globogr had a hunch it was the latter). Her royal clothes had mostly been reduced to a distant memory, shredded and damaged in multiple parts, and her unforgettable battle amour was gone. Blood stains dotted what remained of her clothes, and where the skin was visible Globgor could see vivid Mewman blood following the marks left by Septarian metal.

Her face, though… just looking at it was hard. There was a large, crude gash that ran over Solaria's entire face, up from the left side of her front and down to the right of her chin, right through her left eye. Globgor could see the flesh under the skin, almost pulsing—but perhaps that was just his imagination. Solaria's left eyelid was closed, leaving the destiny of the eye unknown, but the Prince of Darkness knew better than to hope it was okay. The other eyelid was half-closed, barely revealing the sclera below it.

Solaria was breathing heavily, looking at the ground with no apparent interest in the new visitor. As much impressive as her state was, Globgor wasn't deterred. He had already seen scenes like this in his years as a warrior, and despite his best efforts to remain neutral about it… Seth had a point. It was still Solaria Butterfly. She was still the Monster Carver.

He wasn't going to forget that.

"Queen Solaria?"

The queen slowly raised his head, and opened her right eye fully to scan who had called her name. And just like that, as Globgor looked back at her, he knew that despite whatever Seth had done to her, Solaria had not been broken.

At first, the queen didn't answer. She let out a bitter chuckle, then proceeded to spit out some grimy blood out of her mouth. Not the best of starts, but at least she didn't immediately reply with an insult.

"Queen Solaria Butterfly, perhaps you remember who I am," Globgor kept talking. "I am Globgor, Prince of Darkness, and one of the most recognized generals of the monster army."

"I know_ what_ you are," Solaria spitted out.

Globgor sighed. "Queen Solaria… I suggest you to listen to what I'm going to say."

"Listen?"

Solaria let out a bitter chuckle, closing her eye as if she suddenly lost interest in the monster. "How you _dare, _you filthy creature, to tell me to _listen?"_ she hissed. She re-opened the eye, showing him her full fury at such an invite. "After what you and your kind have done for all these years, everything up to last night when you finally got me… you come here and expect me to listen?"

"I didn't have any part in what happened with the ambush, Queen Solaria," Globgor explained calmly. "The monster horde… doesn't answer to one entity, like the way it works among Mewmans."

"Huh… as if it makes a difference. You monsters are all the same kind of hellish beings. I just wish I could've done more to… finish what I wanted to do to deal with you."

Her temples relaxed as she leaned on the pole, as if distracted by some thoughts. She was still glaring at him, but there was something else in her mind, something Globgor had some ideas about. Yet, despite everything, it was clear that despite all the determination she still sported, her body just wasn't able to keep up with it. He had noticed how she frowned every few moments or so, besides her constant scowl due to his presence. He had noticed the sweat coming down her face, the exertion needed just not to fall on her side.

She was tired, that was clear. Globgor guessed that the queen had also been forcing herself to stay awake. Another Mewman might've been more accepting towards a visitor in this state… and yet, here she was, still glaring at him defiantly.

He silently wondered how to reply to Solaria. He didn't like what he had been told, of course… in fact, he had a hunch about what she meant by 'dealing with them', and he didn't like the idea. Even if he had already an idea of what Solaria's ideas concerning the solution of the monster problem entailed, hearing it right from her mouth was another matter.

Was… was she really _this_ hell-bent on destroying them all?

"Queen… Solaria," Globgor pressed on, deciding to ignore the venom from the queen one more time. "Do you understand the situation you're in? You've been captured, and there's no way out of this. You can't fight your way out of Seth and his freebooters."

"Tck. You think I don't realize this?"

"I can only guess what crosses your mind," Globgor said. "There's no need to stay hostile, not towards me and the monster faction I represent at least. Solaria, there may be another solution to this entire mess."

"Another solution?" Solaria's voice was full with scorn, but Globgor went on with his explanation.

"We can reach an agreement, Mewmans and Monsters. We can try to set aside our differences… perhaps, even peace is an option, a long-lasting one, and no more lives will have to be sacrificed in the name of this war. Solaria. Please, consider my words. Far too blood has already been shed, and—"

"Are all monster taught to lie this way?" Solaria interrupted him. She once again emptied her mouth from the mixture of saliva and blood that kept accumulating in it. "You know what? See what I just did? This is my answer, my _definitive answer, _to whatever bullshit you think will convince me to turn my back to my kingdom_."_

"I never said I wanted you to betray your kingdom. This is the opposite, in fact."

Solaria let out a furious growl. "I am not some kind of idiot, monster! I know what you are, what you all want to do. Be 'friends', you say? Yes, you will, only to stab our backs when we least expect it. And you come here, expecting me to forget what your kind has done to Mewmanity?"

Globgor frowned. Of all the things she could've said, this wasn't something he was going to let slide. "Mewmanity has made some mistakes as well in the past, Solaria. If I were to think what _you _in particular have done to us, even… I wouldn't even know where to start. Isn't that the case?"

Solaria narrowed her working eye, but didn't reply. He knew it was less because she thought she was right and more because she wondered what he was talking about. "Your mistakes, and the ones of the Mewmans you rule over, have caused monsters a great deal of pain. No, I'm not talking about the fallen in battle Solaria… I'm talking about the raids you Mewmans called 'monster quelling' and 'monster cleansing' and other names I prefer not to remember at this point in time. I'm talking about non-provoked attacks."

Solaria let out a weak, acid chuckle. "Everything we did, everything I did, was because you deserved it… every single one of you."

"Including those who didn't want to fight? Who _couldn'_t put up a fight, who were helpless?"

"You didn't seem to mind doing the same you first started rioting during my mother's reign. And even without that… yes. You did. It doesn't matter what age you are… you are all destined to become bloodthirsty beasts. I couldn't let that happen."

Globgor closed a fist, trying to find a way to let his anger flow without messing the discussion. It didn't help that much, since he couldn't help raising his tone, his size increasing a little. "I cannot answer for all monsters, and I don't expect you to accept me saying 'sorry' for them, either, but you can't expect me to accept revenge as justification, along with whatever belief you have over our kind. Everything, every _single thing _that brought us where we are, was kick-started by you Mewmans, when you stole monster land."

"Land that was rightfully ours to take, from the very beginning!" Solaria couldn't care less about the size-shifter's increasingly menacing look. However, she didn't press on her point, deciding to suddenly look away from Globgor. "What are we even talking about here? I can't expect you to understand Mewmanity and its rights. You're just a monster."

Globgor stayed silent as the queen spoke. "You've gotten your prize, didn't you? If you planned to do anything with it, I'm afraid you'll have better luck somewhere else… Prince of Darkness. Puah, what a name… leave me alone, or _kill me already._ I don't care."

The size-shifter didn't speak at first, but he didn't move to depart and satisfy the queen's desire, either. He simply looked at her with a dark, but calm expression, eyeing the defeated queen. When Solaria noticed he wasn't going anywhere, she simply stared back, bearing his gaze, as if to expect the witty insult the pitiful monster wanted to say before leaving in order to have the last word.

"You know… Eclipsa told me you were better than you looked at first glance."

Globgor couldn't help feeling some weak mirth as Solaria the Monster Carver almost chocked on her own drool, her eye widening in astonishment. The feeling was gone as soon as it came, though, as he wasn't done talking.

"She's told me that her mother was a much better person when away from the battlefield, and that I just had to talk with her to get to her softer side. Yet, here you are, insulting not just me, but monsters as a whole, accusing us of crimes not all of us had a part with, and refusing to even listen to my words… she is far too lenient. I wonder if she—"

Solaria's reaction was as much violent as it was unexpected. The queen jerked her body forward, standing up and pulling the chains that kept her tied away from the pole. The metal chain rings clicked under the force and her legs trembled as if she were to fall any second, but Solaria was still able to look threatening enough that Globgor made a step back in surprise, instinctively bringing his fists up.

Yet, despite her sudden reaction, the queen couldn't do anything else. The metallic chains, even if rusty a little, didn't give any sign of breaking under the force, and soon her face contorted into a frown. She gritted her teeth, growling, and Globgor knew that she was fighting her own body. He even noticed blood seeping out of the wrists with the shackles that kept her chained up, something that managed to make him flinch: the skin had been consumed. He couldn't even imagine how painful that was.

Despite all of it, Solaria did not give any sign of standing down. She glared at Globgor with her only good eye, shooting imaginary lightning bolts at him. She was beyond furious… in fact, the monster guessed that she'd have liked to behead him right then and there.

"Come… _here!"_ she shouted, "come _here_ if you have the guts, you rancid piece of scum! How you dare, how you _dare _name my daughter!? I'm gonna destroy you!"

"I _dare?"_ at this point, Solaria's showcase of sheer will ceased to have an effect on him: he had had enough. He stepped forward and leaned down to look at the queen dead in the eyes. "I have every _right _to say her name, Solaria!"

"You'll gain that right only when you're deep down in the ground, and not even then will I accept it!" the queen spat back. She tried to pull with even more strength, but that only resulted in more pain as she couldn't hold in a groan. However, that wasn't enough to make her yield, as she kept glaring at Globgor. "You filthy little beast…"

"I have that right," he said, bearing the Queen's gaze. "I have it, and I _will _say her name… because I care about her."

"You… _care?!"_ the word came out as a shout. Solaria's eye was burning with fire, and Globgor thanked that she didn't have her wand at her disposal. He had seen what the queen was capable of when her rage took control.

Yet, he stood his ground. He had one last thing to mention to the queen, something he felt the need to state clearly. "I care. _More_ than you could ever do."

Solaria was taken aback, but this time it took the surprise less time to turn into anger. For the third time she tried to push again, the chains screeching behind her. Her wrists were bleeding, her face was contorted with exhaustion, she was at her very limit—but she still pulled, standing up to the monster who, in her eyes, had just told her she didn't care at all about her daughter.

"You know… _nothing_ about Eclipsa," she snarled. "You are just a monster. You can't understand what it feels like… how I _feel_ every time I'm forced to leave her alone, forced to abandon her. All of that… because of the war with _you monsters."_

She eyed Globgor up and down. "I'd _die _for her… Everything I did, I did because I wanted to make a better future for her as a queen. And no matter what you and your underlings will do—she _will _be queen, and she will give you the treatment you deserve."

Globgor opted to stay silent, deciding not to break this one idea of the queen, but he remained stoic as she spoke.

"It will happen no matter what," she said, her tone getting softer. "I know she will… suffer when I'm gone, but I trust her more than anyone else. I gave her everything I could… but, really. It's something you beasts can't understand anyway."

Solaria's gaze lowered. "You can't possibly understand… how _much _I love her."

"I _love _her as well, Solaria."

Solaria's head jerked up again, her face betraying a mixture of different emotions. It was like she wasn't sure if the Prince of Darkness was just joking or being dead-serious—even if both cases would've resulted in more anger from her part.

She couldn't just refuse to watch the facts though: Globgor didn't smile, laugh or give any sign that he was making fun of her.

Instead, he passed a hand over his face, sighing. "I love her with all my heart, Solaria. For her I've tried to change my ways, to stop my… warrior habits, even the way I lived, even what I _ate._ Thanks to her I've changed my views on the conflict with the Mewmans, and I myself have tried to do the same for my fellow monsters. All of this was thanks to her, it was only because of her coming into my life, showing me that believing that all of Mewmanity was without hope was a grave mistake… but you… her mother. You are the far opposite of that idea. You deem _all_ monsters to be hopeless, you words reek of hatred for us."

He lowered his hand, revealing two pairs of angry eyes and two lines of sharp teeth. "You are the one cause of everything wrong that has happened to Mewni since the day you ascended to power, Solaria! And all of that, because of your hateful ideas… and _nothing else!"_

Without notice, he grabbed Solaria and pushed her back, right into the pole she was tied to. He held her there with one hand big enough to keep her entire chest in a fist: he was now two times taller than her. Even with her determination, the queen was just too weak to even think of rebelling to the Prince of Darkness. Solaria didn't look scared in the slightest despite her lack of strength, but Globgor didn't care.

"I could just end this, here and now," he said in an open threat. "I could just _slit your throat,_ then tell Eclipsa you were killed by vengeful warriors in this camp. And then I could betray her as well, perhaps. I could end the Butterfly lineage in one single blow, taking out the ace the Mewmans always had over monsters: magic. Is this what you think I'll do, Solaria the Monster Carver? Is this what you believe is the true nature of monsters!? Is this the reason you want to _eradicate us from existence!?"_

There was some movement outside. Perhaps, someone had heard the commotion from inside the tent, but no one dared to enter. And Globgor didn't even glance behind him, his full attention on the queen.

Solaria's teeth was grinding, her face contorted in pain from Globgor's hold on her injured body. And yet, she still glared back at him.

"Eradicating you was my only target from the very beginning…" she said flatly. "And I only regret failing before I could do it. Because this… is what you are. And you all deserve to _die._"

Globgor slammed her down on the ground without notice. Solaria wheezed out at the sudden hit, spitting out even bloodied saliva from her mouth. She tried to sit up by pushing against the earth with her hands, but her muscles failed and she collapsed down once again, heaving hard, fast breaths.

"That is where you're wrong, Solaria," Globgor's rage had disappeared, though his voice was still firm and dry. "No, I won't kill you, because even after all you've said, after all you've done, I don't believe it's the right thing to do, to kill a prisoner in cold blood. I will not betray Eclipsa, because she's the only Mewman I trust with every bit of my being, and yes, she will be the queen… and if there a queen that will be able to change everything, it will be her. I will not betray her because, no matter what you think or believe, _I love her."_

Solaria tried once again to push her torso up, and this time she at least managed to hold her upper body with her arms. She turned her head just in time to see Globgor turning around, looking away from her pitiful state.

The size-shifter stopped before fully facing his back, though: he glanced at the downed queen again.

"She was the one that asked me in the first place to talk with you, if things ever went wrong. I expected you to reject me, but I still did it, I still _tried…_ for her. And now, I know for a fact you are everything I thought you were."

Solaria groaned as she used every last bit of energy left in her body to push herself up, and eventually she managed to get herself up from her lying position. She immediately let herself lean on the pole with her back, exhausted. Then, she looked at him.

Something in her eye had changed. But whatever it was, it had disappeared once again, leaving space only for pure hatred.

"You are lying. I…" she coughed once. "I will rather _die _than make peace with the monsters. I will rather _die _than believe your bullshit about what you feel, about my daughter. And I will rather _die _than thinking that any monster can be irredeemable. I know…"

Another painful cough. "…I know _better. _Get… out of my sight._"_

"You don't know better. You just know what you think is bet—"

"_Fuck you."_

Globgor let out another, resigned sigh. He turned around and walked away without another word. He could still hear the queen's heaved, forced breaths from afar, up to the point where he got out of the prison tent and into the open.

Everyone, unsurprisingly, was looking at him. Some of the things he had shouted in there may have raised some questions, but no one dared to ask him what all of that was about. Not even the Septarians.

Well, the majority of them at least… of course, Seth of Septarsis was an exception.

"I guess the discussion with the queen was productive, wasn't it?" he said right when Globgor was passing beside him.

Instead of just taking the jab in silence like Seth expected him to do, the Septarian received a shove that sent him into the lizardmen behind him. They had to hold Seth by his arms in order to prevent their leader from falling down unceremoniously, creating a very dishonourable scene under everyone's eyes. Seth immediately bolted back to his feet, pushing his fellow Septarians away, and drew out his scythe without hesitating.

"You will regret ever—!"

"The queen is yours, Seth."

Seth stopped his hand from lifting up the blade, raising an interrogative eyebrow.

"What?"

"The queen is yours, you said you and your warriors won the right to do what you wanted with her, right? I will respect that right. There's nothing left for me to do here… do what you must."

Globgor walked away without further words. Seth was too stunned to reply, and when he finally managed to come up with a retort, the size-shifter had disappeared into the crowd.

"Damn him…" he growled under his breath. He looked around, his eyes glaring left and right. "What are you all looking at?! Mind your business!"

The crowd, once they heard Seth's call, started to disperse. The Septarian then looked at the other lizardmen, before observing the scythe he still had in his hand.

"Very well, Globgor. You had your moment with the queen. Now, it's my turn."

* * *

Globgor rested somewhere out of the camp's edge, sitting on the ground and away from unwanted attention. He looked at one of his hands, deep in thought.

It was the hand he had used to grab Solaria first and then shove her down second. He could see some blood stains here and there on his skin… in his anger, he had hurt her even more. She was still the Monster Carver, she had done so much to hurt monsters he considered friends!

Yet… this felt wrong. When he had grabbed her, Globgor had felt how fragile she actually was in that moment. Even if her spirit was still unrelenting, Solaria's body had just ceased to function properly by the time Globgor had met her, and he had cruelly used that against her. No… this was something he had left behind months ago. He should've controlled himself… it wasn't something Eclipsa would've appreciated.

"Eclipsa…" he murmured, low enough as not to let anyone hear his musings. Putting it bluntly, he… he had failed. He knew he had to tell her about what happened, sooner or later, and he concluded he had to try to do so before the news came through the thundering, victorious screams of his more blood-thirsty companions, or from the Royal announcers of the Mewman capitol who always made sure to create less than desirable depictions of the monster horde. And worse, he had left Solaria to her destiny, in the hands of Seth nonetheless.

He had failed her… but he remembered what Eclipsa had told him, when he had explained what it meant to be enemies in war, what could happen to Solaria in battle and afterwards, if she survived the battlefield that is. Eclipsa had cried when he had first talked with her about the matter, but afterwards she had told him she understood the circumstances just weren't enough to give her mother good chances if she were to be caught.

She had told him she'd try to be strong if something ever happened to her, and she had told him he'd never blame him for anything, even if the queen were to fall in a duel with the Prince of Darkness himself. She was… mature, for her age. It was something Globgor was both grateful for, and sorry due to the situation that forced his love to face such events.

Yet, it was still a war they were in… and as long as Solaria remained alive, it was going to keep being one.

Before Globgor could try to console her, though, Eclipsa had made her only request to him. _'Please, Globgor… please, if my mother is defeated, but captured and still alive… I don't ask you to save her, I know you can't… I know you wouldn't, after what she's done. But please, I beg you… talk to her. Try to make her reason, show her that not all monsters are the demons she believes them to be. I don't know if she'll listen… but please… just try to do it, Globgor. Promise me.'_

He had promised her. And now he had tried, fulfilling it.

And he had failed in his attempt.

"Eclipsa… I'm sorry…" Globgor said to himself, hands on his face. "I… I hope you will forgive me for what I did."

* * *

Solaria kept breathing heavily even after the size-shifter was gone. Every gust of air coming into her nostrils was a painful experience, her lungs looking to be on the verge of exploding every time they filled with air, and yet that was just the tip of the iceberg. She wasn't just tired, every single part of her body screamed at her to rest, to just stop resisting and let it sleep for a moment. It had been more than a full day since she had last slept, and the treatment given to her by her captors didn't help at all with her fatigue. She was basically done for.

And yet, Solaria kept her remaining eye open. Even if she was basically immobile at this point, her brain was still fully active, trying to process the sea of words that the size-shifter had vomited over her. During their 'talk', Solaria hadn't doubted for a second that everything the monster had let out was fabricated bull made to take her aback, and her anger had mostly arisen from the fact that a mere monster had even dared to mention the name of her child, let alone profess some supposed love for her. It wasn't outrageous for her… no, it was downright infuriating.

But now that the monster was gone… now that she was left alone with her thoughts, she had inevitably started to rethink over Globgor's statements, putting them under a more neutral view. After that, it was a work of connecting the dots, looking back at her most recent memories of Eclipsa and even the less recent ones, remembering how she acted the few times she was around and not campaigning in the war. Her expressions, the ways her eyes darted around as if to avert her gaze every time monsters were mentioned. The way… they lighted up when she casually mentioned, among other names of monster generals and warlords she wanted to take down, the 'Prince of Darkness'.

"No…" she gurgled. The metallic taste of blood on her tongue did little to calm her down. No, this was impossible. She _knew _her daughter, she wouldn't do this. She couldn't.

"_I love her as well, Solaria."_

She… she _thought _she knew her daughter. She _thought s_he wouldn't do this… but reality, reality could be a different matter altogether.

Solaria could be stubborn, but she couldn't hide from the facts. Starting from one truth: Globgor had not been lying.

Maybe the monster had exaggerated, but when he said words of care for her daughter… he wasn't kidding, not even once. She had listened to monsters and Mewmans alike lying in order to get something they wanted or get themselves out of a dire situation, and Solaria had learned how to recognize liars… Globgor wasn't one of them. The sheer honesty of his voice as he talked about Eclipsa… she couldn't just ignore it. It was real.

Saying that the queen was conflicted over this realization was an understatement, but what hurt her the most wasn't the discovery that a monster felt something for her daughter, and that most probably her daughter felt something back. No, that was surprisingly secondary when compared to the fact that she hadn't told her a damn thing about it.

Now she could clearly see it. The way she nodded and said she agreed when she had first talked to her about Shastacan. "It's just diplomacy, Eclipsa," she had said, and she truly believed her daughter would understand her reasoning. Marriage was just a tool for her, something that she didn't find useful for herself, but she believed to be so for Eclipsa, who had never shared her passion in fighting. She was sure she'd realize the diplomatic importance of such a decision.

She did understand it… but what Solaria missed was that she still didn't agree with it, deep down. And now, she knew Eclipsa would basically be forced to marry the Spiderbite noble, as that was one of the few last orders she'd left written down in case she fell in battle.

"E-eclipsa…" Solaria tried to spit out the blood that had been accumulating in her mouth, but she was so weak all she managed to do was a slow stream of organic substance coming out of her lip. She gurgled once again, coughing up in order to free her trachea.

She didn't… she didn't want to leave her like this. No… she didn't want to. She wanted to talk with her, she wanted to understand whatever her daughter had been hiding, no matter how unbelievable, how unacceptable, how inconceivable! No!

Solaria froze in her sitting position, and for a moment she even managed to stop breathing. She felt something coming out of her good eye, then down her cheek, mixing with dried blood from the wound on her face.

Then, her sudden frozen state ceased as she resumed heaving in fast breaths.

It soon came down to her that it was a regret she was going to bring with her to the grave. It hurt, much more than she'd have wanted, but she wasn't going to cry anymore. No, she wasn't going to give the demons outside the mirth of looking at her broken.

Those monsters… she still thought that the ones that had captured her deserved to be cut into pieces and die like disgusting insects. But even so, her worldviews had been put in doubt, because if she had failed to understand her daughter, how would she able to say this wasn't the same with monster-kind? Those Septarians were evil, no doubt about it… but others? What about Globgor, for starters? He had a reputation for being a Mewman-eating terror… but the Globgor who had met with her just didn't match with such an image.

Despite the new intrusive thoughts, in the case of monsters Solaria had no real reason to change her ideals, not yet. She had spent years of her life fighting them, and she'd seen so much cruelty from the creatures that her opinion had been tainted, maybe irredeemably. Even if she herself, by fighting them, had committed many things people would consider cruel.

Even now she thought she had done all of it only in the best interest of her kingdom. But now there was a new dent, a crack in her beliefs, one that even Solaria herself was aware of.

Even so… it was too late to see if those cracks would've brought to new realizations, new ideas and perhaps, eventually, a complete turnaround.

Her time was up.

Septarian freebooters came into the tent. Each one of them exhibited a cruel grin, and all of their eyes were fixed on Solaria. They soon encircled her, but no one moved further to get closer to the downed queen.

Soon, a specific Septarian came into Solaria's view: he was the one with white-hair, the one she recognized as Seth of Septarsis. She had dubbed him 'bleach-face' during her time as a prisoner, but right now the nickname didn't seem to be as funny as it sounded hours before. Perhaps it was the lack of energy, or perhaps it was the heaviness of her previous thoughts, outshining everything else. In any case, her despise for the lizardman was one of the few things that had not changed at all.

"Hello, queen. Hope the visit from our mutual friend wasn't as annoying as it was to me," Seth approached her with slow, measured steps. Solaria noticed that he was the only one among the lizardmen holding something: a Septarian scythe. There were few doubts left concerning his future plans with it.

"We've all had some fun in our time together, but I'm afraid that time has to end right now," Seth explained, enjoying every word. He finally stopped walking only when he was right over the queen: Septarians were tall by definition and with his height Seth was rather imposing.

He brought the scythe to his face, giving it a last analysis. "I know you're quite strong, Monster Carver. So, I think we'll just leave the torture aside, since you've had already quite a lot of that, and get straight to the point. Though, if you don't mind, we'll do it _my way… _if we can get some fun out of this I'd say it's only a gain for me."

Up to that point, Solaria had opted to look forward, without actually considering the Septarian. But now, she weakly lifted her head and glared back at Seth, untouched by his threats.

"Oh, I can feel your anger queen... You're being quite silent, though. I wonder if you'll have enough breath left to scream, once I cut open your stomach."

He raised his scythe, a grin of pure evil on his snout. He was sure this one would get a reaction out of the queen, but Solaria didn't even flinch, much to his surprise.

She held her gaze, looking straight at his face in silence, her breaths progressively getting weaker.

Some seconds before, Solaria had shed a tear, and she had done it because of her daughter.

When the Septarians had come into the tent, she had vowed to herself that, if there were to be any reason she'd shed a tear since the time she had taken the wand for the first time and embraced her destiny, it'd be Eclipsa, her beloved daughter. For, despite what Globgor said, despite her own mistakes, she still cared about her, and nothing was going to change that.

The attempt from the Septarian to intimidate her was laughable compared to her resolve. No, it wasn't monsters and her hatred for them that fuelled her, not anymore. It was the thought of her daughter.

She wouldn't cry for anything but her. And for this reason, she didn't cry, not even when Seth, annoyed, let the Scythe come down at her stomach. Not even when she felt the metal going through her skin, and deeper in.

She didn't cry even when her vision darkened, the Septarians only a vague memory. The last image she managed to see was her smiling daughter… then, it was all black.

**END**


End file.
